Le stationnement est gratuit pendant une heure, mais le parking ferme plus tôt le dimanche.

They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• stationnement usually refers to parking as a general activity, condition, or policy
• parking usually refers to the parking lot / car park itself

So in this sentence:

• Le stationnement est gratuit = parking is free
• le parking ferme plus tôt = the parking lot closes earlier

That is why both words can appear in the same sentence naturally.

French often uses être + adjective where English might use a different structure.

So:

• Le stationnement est gratuit literally means Parking is free

Here, gratuit is an adjective meaning free of charge.

It agrees with stationnement, which is masculine singular:

• masculine singular: gratuit
• feminine singular: gratuite
• masculine plural: gratuits
• feminine plural: gratuites

For example:

• L’entrée est gratuite.
• Les places sont gratuites.

Pendant is used to express duration.

So pendant une heure means for one hour or during one hour.

In this sentence, it tells you how long the free parking lasts.

A learner might compare it with English for:

• gratuit pendant une heure = free for one hour

This is a very common use of pendant with lengths of time:

• pendant dix minutes
• pendant deux jours
• pendant une semaine

Because heure is a feminine noun in French.

So you say:

• une heure
• la première heure
• cette heure

Even though heure starts with h, that h is mute, so it behaves like a vowel sound at the beginning. But its gender is still feminine.

Both are possible in French, but they mean slightly different things.

• Le parking ferme plus tôt le dimanche = the parking lot closes earlier on Sundays
  
  • this focuses on the closing time or schedule
• Le parking est fermé = the parking lot is closed
  
  • this describes its state

So ferme is better here because the sentence is talking about hours of operation, not just the condition of being closed.

Plus tôt means earlier.

So:

• ferme plus tôt = closes earlier

It is a comparative expression:

• tôt = early
• plus tôt = earlier

For example:

• Je pars tôt. = I leave early.
• Je pars plus tôt. = I leave earlier.

No. This is an important spelling difference.

• plus tôt = earlier / sooner
• plutôt = rather / preferably

In your sentence, it must be plus tôt because the meaning is earlier:

• le parking ferme plus tôt le dimanche = the parking lot closes earlier on Sundays

Compare:

• Je viens plus tôt. = I’m coming earlier.
• Je voudrais plutôt un café. = I’d rather have a coffee.

With days of the week, le + day often gives a general or habitual meaning.

So:

• le dimanche often means on Sundays

That fits well in a sentence about opening or closing hours, because it describes a regular rule.

Compare:

• Dimanche, le parking ferme plus tôt. = On Sunday / this Sunday, the parking lot closes earlier.
• Le dimanche, le parking ferme plus tôt. = On Sundays, the parking lot closes earlier.

In signs and public notices, this general use is very common.

Yes — in modern French, un parking is a very common borrowed word.

However, it does not work exactly like English parking.

In French, un parking usually means:

• a parking lot
• a car park
• sometimes a parking garage

It usually refers to the place, not the activity.

That is why French often uses:

• stationnement for the idea of parking in general
• parking for the actual place where cars are parked

It has two main clauses joined by mais.

1. Le stationnement est gratuit pendant une heure
2. mais le parking ferme plus tôt le dimanche

The structure is very similar to English:

• subject: Le stationnement
• verb: est
• complement: gratuit
• time expression: pendant une heure

Then:

• mais = but
• subject: le parking
• verb: ferme
• adverb phrase: plus tôt
• time phrase: le dimanche

So the sentence is quite straightforward in word order, even if some vocabulary choices are different from English.